and you end up crying
by jedikhaleesi
Summary: "You couldn't have said anything, not without repercussions." Modern AU.


and you end up crying

"Dance with me," Margaery says softly, and Sansa falls into her arms.

Like this, swaying to the music, she can almost forget the Tyrells and Tyrion and Joffrey and the rest of those goddamn Lannisters...

"I love you."

Sansa freezes.

This is not the way she's heard it before. Her parents say it like a fact etched in stone. Jon says it awkwardly but with all the certainty in the world. Arya laughs while she says it. Dany drawls it out. Gendry makes a big deal- flowers and cards and everything.

"San?"

What does Margaery want her to say? They're both wearing giant wedding rings that don't match.

So Sansa hesitates, not quite sure. If she says those three little words, it can only get worse from here. It won't just be a simple let's-flirt-and-have-sex thing at the club every Saturday,it'll be something else. Something that could- no, _would_- be bad for both of them.

"San?" Margaery repeats.

She holds on tighter and says nothing.

When Sansa enters the house, Shae is just leaving. She takes a moment to appreciate the fact that, even at two in the morning, Tyrion will kick out his prostitute before she steps inside.

He's waiting for her in the living room. "How was your night?"

She hangs her coat, suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu. The last time she felt this uncertain was when they first moved in together. Then again, she's always been awkward. _Should I tell him?_ Sansa wonders.

"How was Margaery?" he adds, mouth turning up slightly.

"We didn't have sex tonight!" She blurts.

Tyrion's eyebrows jump upwards. After a moment, in which she blushes like crazy, he asks, "Are you all right?"

"She-" Sansa takes in a deep breath. "She said she loves me."

He processes this for a few minutes, and she is _so_ glad that he understands everything. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Under his assessing gaze, tears swell in her eyes. She swipes at them roughly. "What- what was I supposed-"

"You couldn't have said anything," Tyrion interjects firmly. "At least, not without repercussions."

Sansa nods and dries her eyes.

They are married in a whirl of gold and gray, but it seems to her that the traditional Tyrell green is most prominent. She can feel Margaery's eyes boring into the back of her dress as she bends down to kiss her husband.

Those eyes are angry.

"Talk with me, Sansa," Dany says, and she scrambles to her feet. When a Targaryen gives an order, you don't disobey.

"Where are you going?" her mother asks.

"Just stepping outside." Her cousin's wife smiles politely and walks out the door.

Catelyn lets her go without another word- she's never quite liked Dany, but maybe that's because she doesn't quite like Jon, either.

"I'll be back," Sansa promises Tyrion.

Dany's twirling her hair around her finger, looking for all the world like some sort of idiot. Which she's not. The opposite, in fact.

"My dear, how long have you been married?"

She swallows nervously. This feels like an interrogation (and the other's a lawyer, too). Add the fact that any experience with her is nerve-wracking, and you get the question _How does Jon not feel like a rabbit all the time?_ "A- a year."

"And how long has... _that_ been going on?" She waves her hand gracefully in a circle.

"What do you mean?"

"Your... ah, affair." The last word is skilfully drawled. "With Margaery Tyrell, no less."

"Nine months." Her answer is surprisingly confident, but the next question isn't. "How did- did you know?"

The other woman takes something from her pocket and holds it out.

"My phone!" Sansa snatches it back and turns it on. 3 missed calls and 5 messages, all from Margaery.

_I miss you :(_

_How much longer?_

_baby i'm bored_

_think of me tonight ;)_

And finally, finally, the most incriminating three words:

_I love you :)_

"Dany-"

"I'm not going to tell," she interrupts. "I'm not going to blackmail you, either."

Sansa looks down at her phone. "A-actually, I was going to ask you how you got my phone."

"Oh, you know, when you and your brother's survival depends on stealing you learn pretty fast." It's too flippant to be properly casual, and the shrug that accompanies it is fake, too.

"Did you learn to be a grifter, too?"

"The proper word for it, my dear, is a liar. Which makes two of us."

Dany's silvery-purple eyes seem to understand everything.

"Sansa?" Margaery sounds surprised. After all, it's one in the afternoon, not the regular time they call each other. "What-"

"Margaery, I love you." Finding courage took time, but even after she did there was never an opportunity for her to say this. And honestly, she just doesn't care anymore. "I will love you forever and ever and I don't care if Joffrey is listening. But our- whatever we're doing- is going to ruin us, and we're halfway lost already."

She hears an intake of breath on the other end and has to swallow her apprehension. "We've been robbed of our happiness, Marge. And you know what I think? I don't know how we got here, married to men we don't love and completely unhappy, but somehow we did. I'm lucky in that I escaped Joffrey and married Tyrion, because we're fond of each other, but if I could honestly say 'I married someone I love'- oh gods, Margaery, imagine how amazing it would be. Being married to someone you love, I think most people take it for granted. Not me or you, obviously, but-"

"Sansa." Her lover's voice is as cold as ice. "Shut up."

"The prosecution would like to call Sansa Lannister to the witness stand."

Her family looks at her, surprised. "What-" her mother begins.

"You'll find out soon," she answers. Surprisingly, her voice doesn't shake. From her seat at the defense's table, Dany frowns (and she remembers- "Do everything you can, Dany!" "There's irrefutable evidence, my dear." "Please, Dany.").

As she settles into the witness stand, she can feel Margaery's eyes boring into her, just as they did at her marriage. The difference is that this time, they're not angry.

"Mrs. Lannister." The PA smiles politely at her. "I'd just like to ask a few questions before we begin, just to confirm your identity."

She nods.

"You are twenty-one years old, correct?"

"Yes." Her voice fails her now; it comes out mousy and timid.

"And... married for three years now to Tyrion Lannister?"

"Yes."

"Happy marriage?" Disapproval is written in the lines of his face.

"It's a good marriage." It's a half-truth; the PA knows it, the DA knows it; her parents know it.

"So, I'm assuming you met Mrs. Tyrell-Lannister at a family meeting or something of the like, since the victim was your husband's nephew."

"Yes."

"When you first met her, what impression did she make on you?"

"She..." Sansa thinks back to the first time they met. "She was sweet, but I always felt..."

"Always felt what, Mrs. Lannister?"

"As if she had the potential to kill."

The PA's mouth twists in a satisfied smirk.

"You said 'always', Mrs. Lannister. It implies you met her more than once."

_Well, that's for sure. _"We're friends."

"So, as a friend, do you believe Mrs. Tyrell- Lannister is capable of murdering her husband?"

She doesn't hesitate, not for a second. "Yes."

Dany shifts uneasily in the DA's seat. She knows exactly what's going to happen next.

"Are you aware of a possible motive Mrs. Tyrell- Lannister could have had?"

She may have been a liar for the past few years, but she cannot lie anymore. "I always suspected there was some tension between them."

"Would you know the cause of that tension?"

"She..." _What do I say? What can I say? _"... was abused."

_That's good. _Dany's brow relaxes- she can work with that. The prosecutor frowns, not liking her answer. "Do you know any other causes?"

"Margaery never told me anything." Which is true, because she never liked Sansa to worry.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lannister..."

_{three years later}_

"Hello, Margaery." Sansa sits down.

"San." She sounds tired but is still as beautiful as ever. "You look..."

She looks pregnant, that's what she looks like. Tywin got impatient, Shae ditched, and Tyrion got horny. It's a natural result.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Her voice is soft and heartbroken.

"It's a boy, as Tywin hoped." Sansa can't help smiling. She's going to have a son soon, and he will be her pride and joy and everything Margaery once was.

"You're so happy."

Her smile dims a bit. "Am I not supposed to be happy?"

"The love of your life is in jail!" Margaery is angry now , clenching her hands into fists. "I'm supposed to be the only thing that makes you happy! You can't-"

"i can't move on from a convicted murderer ?"

The other woman's eyes glisten with tears. "If you move on, San, you're going to forget me. And I never- never want you to forget me. Because-"

She breaks off abruptly and starts sobbing .

"I will always love you, Margaery," Sansa says firmly, and gets up to leave.

_ fin_

**Please R&R. ~jedikhaleesi**_  
_


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